Interest rates had a good week last week with the mortgage backed security market closing the week trading up (+ 60 bps). Welcome news after the sharp rise in rates the week before. Overall, fixed interest rates went down approximately .125% with similar costs.

Even with positive trading for the majority of last week, the market was still very volatile. Expect that to continue.

The main things to watch this week will be:

The Federal Open Market Committee’s public statement on Wednesday

The Stock Market’s performance

As always, the monthly Fed meeting and policy statement has the ability to substantially alter interest rates. With most recent economic news being positive, many are watching to see if the FED will give clues on if they will stop buying treasuries and mortgage backed securities early. If they do, expect rates to rise quickly.

The stock market has been trading at all time high’s for a couple of weeks now. Many prognosticators have predicted a pull back, but this hasn’t happened yet. If we do see some stock sell off and profit taking, interest rates will likely improve.

Remember that FHA is raising mortgage insurance rates and making it for the life of the loan on April 1st. You can still get in with the old guidelines if I pull your FHA case number before April 1st.

Had a great time running a race in Moab, Utah this weekend and celebrating my son’s 2nd Birthday. I apologize if I was unavailable to get back to some of you to this week. I will be back in town Monday afternoon.